Christmas at the Ruins
by cupcakesarereallygood
Summary: Its Christmas time and Naruse Ibara wanted to have the perfect time with everyone...but Haruto and the rest of the Mop Up Squad got sent on a mission far far away from them. Seems like Aoi and Taeko are planning something, but what? Also covers a childhood christmas story. I love them, Jaruto and Ibara, I mean. two-shot. requested by a friend of mine
1. Chapter 1

**Heyow! I had always wanted to write a Coppelion fic, but the Coppelion Category was just recently started. No one is probably reading this, which makes it more fun to write! Haha. I don't know about you guys but I just totally love this series. In the span of, I don't know, a month, I've written about 3 notebooks full of my own Coppelion universe! That's pretty weird, and yes, I don't pay attention in class.**

**Well, this is my first time writing a fic for a category other than TAKNR or TAMNI, so I guess you'd call this a pretty new experience! Enough of my rant, please allow me to start the story!**

**Just so you know, I'm addicted to Ibara and Haruto, so you'll read a lot of it here. Oh, and the timeline of this would be a long time after Haruto's revival, which, in this present time, has not yet been released in the manga. Spoiler alert: he dies then revives. Haha.**

**This'll probably a two shot. With this one being too long, while the other one is normal.**

CHRISTMAS IN THE RUINS

December 21th 2036

"Nee~ Ibara-senpai?" Fukasaku Aoi cooed as she and the other members of the Healthcare Unit of the JGSDF Technical School, Nomura Taeko and Naruse Ibara, walked around the streets of the abandoned capital, Tokyo. "How much longer are we gonna have to walk? I'm getting tired~!"

"Oh come on Aoi, just a little more okay? Promise!" Naruse Ibara said with a smile as she looked back at her kouhai before turning her attention back to the road.

"But senpaiii~! Aoi is a bishoujo! Aoi can't take much more of the walking!" she complained again.

"Maa, maa Aoi-san." Taeko said, matching her pace to that of her classmate before leaning in and whispering something into her ear. "Ibara-senpai has been really dazed for the past few months and you know that. We need to be more considerate of her."

"But even so! Kurosawa-senpai is alive and well isn't he?! Then Ibara-senpai sh—" a sudden wave of realization hit her as a sly smile made it to her face.

"Ara? Aoi-san?" Taeko asked as she watched her move in tiptoes towards their senior.

"Ne, ne Ibara-senpai?" Aoi asked, popping her head beside Ibara, who suddenly stopped to stare at her kouhai weirdly.

"Wh-what is it Aoi? You're acting very weird…"

"Ufufufu, Kurosawa-senpai is returning from the team mission with the Ozu sisters in Akihabara by today or tomorrow, right?" Aoi asked slyly, placing a hand near her mouth as she spoke.

"Uhh…yeah? And what does Haruto's return have to do with anything? And why are you so close to me anyway?!"

Ibara said taking a few steps back as she looked cautiously at Fukasaku Aoi, who was smiling at her. She then looked over to Taeko, who just shrugged before smiling nervously back at her. Ibara had a thought.

"Hey." She said looking at the two suspiciously. "What are you guys planning?"

"Hah?! What are you talking about senpai?!" Aoi denied obviously. "We're not planning anything! Oh nothing at all! Absolutely nothing!"

Her lie was so obviously fake, Ibara could only sweat drop and stare exasperatedly at her, as Taeko face palmed and sighed. She really wasn't good at keeping secrets.

"Ah, well if you say so." she said, playing along, which brought the life back into Aoi's eyes. "But we should get moving now. It's almost coming close to night time, we should set up camp."

"Aww, if only Kurosawa-senpai was here, we could have him invent a bomb that explodes and becomes a camping set, complete with a tent, bonfire and everything!" Aoi complained again as Taeko just smiled and continued on walking.

"Hey now, don't take Haruto's skill for granted Aoi." Ibara said with a smile as they trudged forward. "He may be really good at what he does, but he can't do impossible stuff like that, not that I know of anyway."

She added, looking back at them with a beautiful smile on her face as she walked ahead of them. A second later, she had withdrawn her gaze and went on their journey to find a place to sleep in the old capital. As she marched forward, Taeko and Aoi, who walked behind her whispered to one another.

"She sure looks happy whenever we speak of Kurosawa-senpai ne, Taeko?"

"Well, from what I've heard, she and Kurosawa-senpai had known each other since they were five. They must be pretty close, so that's why." Taeko answered logically.

"Fuu~ you're no fun Taeko, I was just wondering if maybe Ibara-senpai liked Kurosawa senpai!"

"Eh?!" She gasped. "Really? I never thought of that…but considering them, it certainly would be possible!"

"I know right!" And so the two girls giggled behind their senior's back. Not noticing that she was two kilometers away from them.

"OI! YOU TWO! HURRY UP!"

She shouted. The two first year high school students looked forward, in search of their senior, who was WAY ahead of them.

"I'M RIGHT HERE! MOU! HURRY UP OR I'LL LEAVE YOU! DON'T BLAME ME IF WILD ANIMALS COME AND TAKE YOU, AOI! THEY'D BE NICE TO TAEKO, BUT NOT TO YOU!"

Ibara called out once again, before moving on. Aoi immediately panicked and dashed forward, crying out her seniors name as Taeko laughed and jogged behind her, just to make sure that an animal really didn't come and take her away. It was better safe than sorry right?

* * *

December 22st 2036

Ibara Naruse stretched her arms as she yawned out her sleep, blinking her eyes as they adjusted to the brightness. She felt a cold draft run through her as she hurriedly put on her jacket and vest.

"Brr…" She shuddered, standing up. "It's really cold this morning huh?"

Ibara looked to both sides and saw Taeko and Aoi sleeping peacefully next to her. She smiled, before placing a blanket over them, something which they subconsciously appreciated. Ibara stood up from the clinical bed, since they did take refuge in an old clinic. The other two girls pestered her all night about sleeping together, even though there were more than enough beds for all three of them.

"These two are still like kids…"

She said to herself as she walked over to the window, but was surprised to see how fogged up it was. Puzzled by this, she tried to wipe off the fog, only to realize how cold it made the glass and how useless it was. She tried opening it, but due to oldness, it wouldn't budge.

Panic made its way to her as she thought of the possibilities: This might be an enemy attack. The fog might actually be poisonous, even for Coppelion's like them. It was actually smoke and they were being burned to death. Looking over to the other two who slept peacefully on the bed, she couldn't bring herself to wake them up. She hurriedly scribbled a note, placed it on the nearest table and ran off, picking up her gun.

She ran through the corridors and the fleet of stairs at nearly the speed of sound, not noticing anything weird in her surroundings. Thinking that the "enemy" had not yet penetrated their territory, she made her way up to the rooftop, peeking through it, before barging out, pointing her gun at every direction.

"What the-?! No one's here?" She asked herself as she panted and lowered her gun. She sighed, before walking over to rails and touching them, only to regret the said attention as she drew it back quickly. "Ugh, cold."

She then began staring out at the scene of the old capital. The sky was a bit grey, but beautiful as always. It had made her wonder, if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe it would rain, maybe it was another wave of the wind of death, or maybe the gods just decided to make it a little dark for today.

"Haah~" she sighed. "I got too worked up over nothing, silly me."

Ibara laughed to herself as she stared up at the gloomy sky, before noticing something that floated towards her. She held out her hand and touched the said thing, feeling a slightly tingling sensation from its touch.

"Huh, I wonder what is this— SNOW?!" She exclaimed happily, carefully examining the little flake of snow that dropped from the heavens. Several drops of white were falling, the same way the little one in her hand did. She held up both her arms and danced around.

"Ha-ha! I caught it! I caught the first snow flake! Something good is bound to happen to me n-!"

"IBARA-SENPAI!"

Came two loud voices from the door she had kicked open. Ibara stopped dancing and looked at Taeko and Aoi who were panting breathlessly, hands to their knees.

"Wow. What did you guys do? Run a marathon or something?" she joked.

"This is no joking matter senpai!" Taeko said in a panic. She held up the note Ibara had left for them earlier and Ibara's expression slowly dropped. "What is this note?! What's the emergency?! Who's the enemy?!"

"Waa~! Aoi can't take this much stress so early in the morning! It's only a 8 AM for crying out loud!" Aoi cried.

"Ah, about that…" Ibara said scratching the back of her head. "You guys don't have to worry about that. It was just a false alarm. It's nothing really." She said nervously with a laugh.

Aoi and Taeko stopped and stared at her conspicuously. Ibara stopped laughing and looked at the two who had shocked expressions frozen on their faces.

"Uhm, girls?"

"You…you mean to say we got worked up for nothing?" Aoi asked.

"Uhh, yeah. Sorry about that."

"There is no enemy or attack?" Taeko inquired.

"Nope, none. All clear."

"You…" Aoi muttered as Taeko just sighed. "HOW COULD YOU PLAY SUCH A MEAN PRANK ON US IBARA-SENPAI! AND TO THINK THAT CHRISTMAS IS NEAR TOO!"

'_Agh! What the hell?! First flake my butt! Nothing good is happening to me! __**My kouhai**__ is yelling at me for crying out loud! She-eh?! Wait, what?!'_ Naruse thought.

"What did you say Aoi?"

"I said that you're mean and that it's almost Christmas, you big meanie!" Aoi shouted, sticking her tongue out to Ibara, who made a fist out of her right hand, placing it on her left hand, as she concluded on something.

"Ah! So that explains the fog, the cold weather and the snow!" she said out loud, happily, causing Aoi and Taeko to gawk at her.

"W-what?" Aoi asked.

"Well, the reason why I thought we were being attacked was because there was fog lining up the windows, so I thought it was some sort of poisonous gas or something. Sorry about that! Guess I got a bit too paranoid huh?" she laughed, which snapped a fuse in Aoi.

"IBARA-SENPAI YOU IDIOT!" she shouted. "Today is December 22! Of course it would be cold and there'd be snow!"

"Hey, I forgot okay? Relax Aoi! Just look at the city and the falling snow, isn't it pretty?"She said pushing Aoi over to the railings, shutting her up. "You too Taeko! Come on!" She said grabbing her hand and taking her next to Aoi and watched as they marveled at the over look of the city.

"Pretty aint it?" She asked, hoping that the whole issue would've been forgotten.

"Hello? Channel 3 to Channel 1, Kurosawa here, are you there Naruse?" came Haruto's voice from the radio inside Ibara's pocket. All three girls turned their attention to Ibara's skirt pocket, staring at it for a while.

"Uh? Hello? Naruse? Come in!"

"Answer it Ibara-senpai!"

Aoi shouted, grabbing the radio from her skirt pocket and shoving it at her chest, surprising her. Aoi steeped back and Ibara took a breath and held the radio in her hands.

"Ah? Haruto? It's me. Sorry I was late answering."

"Huh. That's weird. Usually you'd pick up the second someone calls you. Has something happened? You three alright?" he asked.

Ibara was shocked at first, but she slowly relaxed and smiled. Taeko and Aoi smiled at one another before turning their backs, giving the two callers a bit of privacy, though they were still eavesdropping.

"Nope. Nothing happened. I accidentally gave Aoi a mini-heart attack, so she was screaming her lungs at me for it, that's all." She said happily. '_Huh. The first snow flake does bring luck after all!'_

"Ah, is that so?" Haruto replied. "Uhm…listen Naruse, I have something to tell you."

"Huh? What is it Haruto? Are you guys in trouble or something?" she asked worriedly.

"No, it's noth—"

"Ha! As if that'd ever happen! Have you forgotten that we're here with him, huh class rep?"

Ibara's eye twitched upon hearing this response. Only one person/Coppelion in the world would have the audacity to do something as frivolous as taking the radio from someone while they were talking.

"Kanon Ozu. Nice to talk to you again."

"Oh save the sweet talk for Haruto class rep, not interested in it." She replied in a bored tone. Struggling could be heard from the background, and Ibara could only suspect that Shion Ozu was holding Haruto off as her sister tried to piss Ibara off.

"Whatever you say Kanon, but could you please tell Shion to get off Haruto? He was about to tell me something important, I think."

"Oh that? He was just gonna tell you that we wouldn't be able to return in time for Christmas, so spend your nights all sad and lonely okay?"

"Dammit Kanon give that back!" Came Haruto's voice and another weird sound, she had no interest of knowing.

"Ah! Shion! Why'd you let him loose! I was having my fun!"

"But Aneki! Haruto was blackmailing me again!" Shion cried.

'Uh, Naruse? You think you could hold for a sec? While I try to get things in order here?" Haruto said over the radio as he panted. Aoi and Taeko, who were listening in the whole time, could only look at her with sad expressions, as Ibara tried to smile.

"Yeah, of course. You go do that, Haruto."

"Thanks. Sorry about this Naruse. I'll call you later, okay?" He said hanging up and ending the call, though it really wasn't much of a call. More like a sad greeting.

"Sigh, and to think I wanted all of us to be together this Christmas…" Ibara said with a sad smile. "Looks like my plan's all ruined huh?"

"We're sorry about that, Ibara-senpai…" Aoi said coming over and hugging her, while Taeko could only stand beside her and nod. Ibara smiled and patted both of their heads.

"Not to worry now. I still have you guys with me right? Besides, Haruto promised me that he'd call me later right? I'm sure that by then, he would've thought of something to get back here in time for Christmas!" she said cheerily, making the two girls smile and nod. But he never really called after that. And she was left to stare at the radio the entire time, waiting for his call to arrive.

* * *

December 23rd 2036

"Are you sure about that, Naruse?"

Vice Principal Mishima asked as he walked around the JGSDF Base in Osaka, with Lieutenant Ibuse right beside him, yawning in boredom.

"Yes, positive Vice Principal." Naruse answered as she watched Taeko and Aoi play snowballs in an old field. She sat on one of the benches with a contented smile, looking up at the sky. "We haven't come across any humans so far. Though I still believe that there may be some who are still surviving."

"Good enough. Great work."

"Hai, Vice Principal Mishima. Naruse Ibara is ou—"

"Actually, Naruse? Wait." The principal said, as she was about to hang up. She stared at the radio in a puzzled manner, wondering what the VP had to say. "Has Kurosawa or the Mop up Squad contacted you yet?"

"Ah, them?" Ibara repeated sadly. "Yes. They've called me yesterday, is there a problem sir?"

'I don't think I'm the one who has a problem, Naruse. Why did you sound sad? Has something happened?"

"No." She answered, shaking her head, as if the VP could see her gesture from the call. "It's nothing serious really. They just called me…to say that they wouldn't be able to come back for Christmas."

"Ah? Is that so? That's too bad then. It would've been nice to spend Christmas, all of you, together. The same way the two of you did when you were younger." The VP said, making her eyes widen. She looked around, wondering if Aoi had heard that, and just her luck. Aoi was right behind her, grinning slyly again.

"I'm going now, Vice Principal." She grunted, placing the radio back in her pocket.

"Ne, Ibara-sen—"

"Not another word Aoi."

"Ha-ha-ha. Of course, of course. As you wish. I just never knew that you spend Christmas together, you and Kurosawa-senpai, I mean. ALONE."

"THAT'S NOT IT AOI!"

* * *

"Sigh, I can't believe those kids coaxed me into this."

The VP said as he readjusted his tie, gulping up a cup of hot coffee. Lieutenant Ibuse drank his own cup and faced him.

"Well, what can you do? Kurosawa Haruto was never really lenient when it came to matters concerning _her_."

"Yes, I know that. I just hope that this whole plan wouldn't backfire on him or anyone else. Especially Naruse. That girl easily gets irrational. Who knows what she would do? She can get a bit hot headed at times."

"A bit?" Ibuse asked.

"A lot." VP corrected.

"Hah. Thought so too." And so the two drank their coffee.

* * *

"Hah! It seems like your plan worked perfectly Haruto!"

Kanon Ozu managed to breathe out of her laughter as she and her sister rolled around inside the APC driven by Haruto. They were eavesdropping on the VP's and Ibara's radio conversation, so they heard her disappointment.

"Shut up the both of you. It's distracting to hear your manic laughter while I'm driving you know."

"Want something distracting Haruto?" Shion said wiping away her tears of laughter. "Imagine the look on class rep's face when she sees you! Gyahahahaha! She can't even look at you in the eye! Not after you "died" before getting to Mitaka station!"

The two sisters laughed their butts off as Haruto could only do his best to shut out the sounds of their ringing manic laughter from his ears and mind. It's volume nearly drove him to insanity.

'_Yeah, well that's why I'm doing this in the first place. To set things straight between us.'_ Haruto thought as the drive went on. Haa, this was gonna be one long ride.

* * *

December 24th 2036

"Haah~ Such a beautiful Christmas Eve-day, and we're just gonna spend it with the three of us…"

Ibara Naruse stared at the city, atop of a rusty old bridge. The abandoned city looked so beautiful, as it was draped white by the snow. Despite the ghost town appearance of it, she still felt at home. But of course, there was still lingering loneliness in her heart.

"Senpai?" Taeko asked as she approached her from behind.

"Ah, hey there Taeko. Why aren't you playing with Aoi and Mr. Wolf over there?" Ibara said with a smile as she pointed towards Aoi and the wolf, who were playing tag below them in the cold comfort of snow.

"I wasn't really made for stuff like those, senpai. And besides, I couldn't possibly keep up with Aoi-san's and Mr. Wolf's energy."

"Ha-ha. Guess you're right."

They both laughed as they watched the twp figures run around below them. As their laughter died down, a comfortable silence overcame them as they just stared at the white city. Taeko looked over to her senior, and saw the look of longing in her eyes. A strong girl she may be, her heart was just as vulnerable as snow.

"You really wanted to spend the Christmas with everyone huh, Senpai?"

"Of course I did." She answered, taking a breath. "You, me, Aoi, Mr. Wolf, Kanon, Shion, Haruto, and everyone…just everyone. Coppelions will just drop and die someday right? We don't know when that'll be, but I just want to live my life to the fullest in the capital. With everyone that I care about and whom I consider important. That's…al I really want."

Ibara said, and Taeko had nothing to say for that. They just both left it at that, letting the silence make a sound for them.

"IBARA SENPAI! TAEKOOOO!" Aoi shouted, causing the two of them to look down, only to see her getting held by a man with a mask. "HELP MEEEE~! SOMEONE SAVE AOI PLEASE!"

She cried. Ibara wasted no time in taking out her gun, jumping off the railing and onto the ground. Taeko had to use the stairs, since she wasn't as agile as her senior. Ibara stood up and pointed the gun at the person who held Aoi's head.

"Who are you?! What do you want with Aoi?!"

She demanded, but the man didn't speak. Instead, ge just stomped his foot once, and then suddenly a wall of snow exploded, acting as a smoke screen for him to escape.

"SENPAIII~!" Aoi shouted as she got dragged off somewhere by the unknown guy. Ibara could only cover her eyes, and listen to Aoi's wails. When the snow finally settled down, Taeko came running to her aside, panting as she did.

"Senpai? What happened to Aoi-san?"

"I don't know." Ibara muttered as she lowered her head. She took out her gloves, wore them around her hands, fastening them. She checked the barrel of her gun, locked it before placing bullets and ammo on the strap on her thigh.

"Uh…senpai?"

"I am really freaking pissed off right now." Ibara muttered angrily, scaring Taeko off slightly. "I am really freaking pissed, and whoever did that to Aoi is SOOO GONNA GET IT." She stressed, before running off towards the direction where Aoi and the man went to.

"Ah! Ibara-senpai! Wait! You should-!" But it was too late, for she had already gone too far. "Oh dear! I need to warn them quickly!" Taeko said running off to the opposite direction in a frenzy. Things weren't going quite as planned.

* * *

Naruse Ibara ran through the empty streets of Tokyo. With a gun in her hand, she stealthily made her way towards the old shopping lane, where she suspects that the criminals have taken Aoi to.

"Tch. First flake of Christmas?! As if!" she scoffed. "Nothing good has happened ever since I caught the damned thing!"

She continued, as she looked around her, noting down the broken toys that were left behind inside a toy store. She noticed an alleyway beside it; where in a sparkly thing caught her eye. She walked over to it and picked it up. It was Aoi's blue hair pin.

"I knew it they were right here."

She said to herself as she continued to look around her. The snow was getting thick; it was hard to take her foot off her own footsteps in the snow. But this would be a great asset when it came to battles. Her senses heightened, and she immediately turned around, and saw two figures clad in red, standing before her.

"Who are you people and where's Aoi?!"

She shouted, but got no response. The two figures smiled, before running off in different directions. Ibara looked both ways, wondering which way she should go. Deciding to trust her instincts, she went right. Hopefully her instinct was right. Running through the snow was no easy task.

* * *

"OI!" Ibara shouted, as she was still running after the person in red. "Where the hell are we going huh?! I've been running after you for nearly an hour now! If you're trying to get rid of me, I'm telling you this now! That won't happen! So just go back to the guy who kidnapped Aoi and let me beat the crap out of him!"

"You'd never do that!"

The figure answered. Ibara was shocked, but she didn't stop running after HER. The person she was chasing was a HER, judging from the voice, and it also seems kinda familiar. Deciding to set aside her thoughts, Ibara kept running, despite her fatigue beating at her.

***HONK*HONK*HONK*HONK***

Ibara threw her head back and her eyes widened with what she saw. A freaking snow plow. A huge, freaking snow plow (the really really huge ones)was coming after her, honking its horn at her.

"W-what the hell is THAT doing here?!"

She shouted as her feet still kept going. So many questions had filled up her head. Who was driving the—Oh, the other figure in red was driving. What the hell was something like that doing there? Why was it even working?! What the hell do they want?!

"O-oi! Watch out!" The one driving the snow plow shouted, waving at her.

"What the hell?! You're chasing after me with that thing!"

"Naruse! Listen to her!" Haruto's voice shouted. _'What is going on?!_'Ibara thought.

"WATCH OUT! POLE!" The red-clad figure shouted again. Wondering what that meant, Ibara slowly tuned to face whatever it was that the person was warning her of. There was a pole right in front of he-, oh. THAT pole.

'Oh what the heck…"

Ibara muttered, knowing that it was too late to stop herself. She tripped on the snow and fell face first. Her face fitting the pole hard, knocking her out. The pole broke in half too. The one she was chasing took off her red garb, revealing long black hair, Shion Ozu. The other one, riding the snow plow went down and looked at Ibara's passed out figure lying on the snow.

"Aneki, what are we gonna do? Haruto's gonna kill us!" Shion whined, kneeling down in front of Ibara and poking her cheeks. The other one took of her red garb, revealing wavy brown hair, the elder Ozu Sister, Kanon Ozu.

"Well, at least we had fun pissing her off and chasing her down, right?"

"Damn right I'll get you for this." Came on ominous voice from behind. They were so dead. If there's one thing being with genetically engineered human beings can teach you, it's never to mess with a mad scientist who is an expert at bombs and blowing things up. Unless you want your guts spluttering in the sky.

* * *

"What the hell were you guys thinking?!"

'_Ah? Was that…Haruto?'_ Ibara thought as she slowly regained her consciousness. Something warm was on her head, as numerous voices screamed at one another. Voices that she all recognized.

"Hey, it was your plan in the first place Haruto! Don't blame it on us!" Kanon shouted back.

"Maa, maa, everyone. If you keep shouting like that, Ibara-senpai might just wake up. She needs to sleep, after…hitting a pole." Taeko said exasperatedly.

"Aoi still can't believe that senpai fell for something like that AND ran into a pole." Aoi's voice commented.

'_What the-?! They're all here? What's going on ri—OW! My head hurts…I think I'm having a migraine or something… but seriously, what is going on? Wait, everyone. Then that means-!'_

"AOI!" She suddenly shouted, sitting up, only to suffer extreme dizziness. "Ow, ow, ow. My head, ugh, my heard hurts…"

"Well of course it would hurt, you idiot." Haruto's voice said. Ibara immediately looked over to her right, and found Haruto standing beside her bed, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, with his tie loose.

"HARUTO?!"

"Yeah, sure. Nice greeting there." He said plainly, sighing. "I'm just glad you didn't have severe brain damage or anything. You hit that pole pretty hard."

"Pole? What pole?" Ibara asked, confused. "And what are you doing here? In fact, what are you ALL doing here? I thought you won't be able to make it back?! I thought you were on a mission?! Who saved Aoi! Who the hell kidnapped her in the first place?! Tell me who that jerk is and I'll teach him al lesson!"

Ibara ranted off, and the other Coppelions could only gulp in fear. The Class Rep can be pretty scary when she's pissed.

"The answer to almost all her questions is Haruto right?" Shion asked excitedly. Ibara's eyes widened, as Haruto, Taeko and Aoi only face palmed.

"Ting ting ting! That's my sister! You got the right answer lil sis!" Kanon cheered and clapped. As the two sisters cheered and celebrated, Haruto dreaded the things to come.

"Haaruuutoooo" Ibara said, dragging on the vowels in his name.

"Why don't you guys all go out for awhile? I'll talk to Naruse about this." He turned around, trying to delay his face-off with her, even just for a few seconds. Without a second thought, Shion, Kanon, Taeko and Aoi left the room, in one swift motion, leaving trails of dust in the wind.

"Why those traitors—"

"Mind explaining this to me first, Haruto?" Ibara interrupted his self loathing monologue. He turned his head and saw her trying to leave her bed. They were still inside the clinic that Ibara and the Healthcare Team had slept in. he hurriedly went over to her and helped her sit up.

"I will explain it to you, but you might want to relax for a while. As I said, you hit your head pretty hard. Did you know that you rboke the pole in half?"

"I –what?! With my head?! That's impossible Haruto."

"Yeah, I thought so too. But it seems like they really did make your head harder than steel. Figuratively AND literally speaking."

"Ugh. Enough of this! Can you please just explain it to me?!" she shouted. She didn't know what was happening with her, but she just had this…fleets of emotions battling in her heart. It was so weird, and for some reason, she just felt so agitated. "You promised to call me but you never did! I got worried about you, you know! I kept waiting for your call to arrive, but it didn't! Then Aoi got kidnapped, and then—and then!"

"Naruse," Haruto said calmly, he sat on the side of her bed and placed his hand against her forehead. "You don't have a fever or anything, but it's still swollen. Good enough."

"That's not my point!"

"And I know it's not. Did you really think I was one of those idiotic protagonists in shounen mangas? But you need to understand something here Naruse." He said standing up and walking to the table right next to her bed, and taking a warm soaked towel from the basin. He glanced over to her and smiled. "Your welfare matters more to me than just explanations."

"Hmph. Yeah sure. Tell me that right after I get this huge bump on my head because of you and your stupid pranks."

She said crossing her arms over her chest. Haruto went back to his position beside her, lying her down and placing the towel on her head.

"This should keep the swelling down. And as for what happened, swear to god Naruse, it wasn't a prank. It was meant to be a surprise. I had it all planned out, but I didn't think it'd back fire like this."

"Wait, you _planned_ the whole kidnap Aoi thing?" she stressed, about to sit up, but he forced her down, placing his hand over the towel on her forehead.

"Yes, I did. Look, if keep on moving around and interrupting me, I won't be able to tell you the whole story."

"Fine." She said removing his hand from her head. "Then I'll shut up and you tell me."

"Sigh, really Naruse." He said, shaking his head. "Well, as I said. The plan was to keep you busy and run after Kanon and Shion, since they were the most useless when it comes to preparations. We wanted to recreate a school setting here in Tokyo. Complete with the tall tree that stood in Osaka. The one you often climbed up on."

Ibara was stunned, to say at the least. She didn't know that he and everyone else went through all the trouble to prepare a supposedly wondrous gift for her, but she ended up ruining it.

"You still remember that tree right? The one where I gave you your first ever Christmas present?"

"Well, of course I do! I still have it with me too!"

"That's good and all, but back to topic. Things were pretty much according to plan. The VP was in this too, Fukasaku and Nomura knew as well. All was well right up until you suddenly bolted right after me. I never knew you'd be so pissed when Fukasaku got kidnapped. Right from there, things got haywire. And now, here we are."

"Me with a swollen head and you with your broken pride?" Ibara joked. Much to her surprise, Haruto smiled at her.

"Yes. Me with my broken pride." He repeated. "But anyway, does your head still hurt?"

"Uh, no. not as much as it used to." She said taking off the towel and feeling her forehead. After checking it a few times, she threw it back into the basin, before sitting up. "See? I'm all better."

"You're such a bad liar, Naruse. As always."

"Yeah, and you can't even surprise me properly without causing a huge disaster. Why did you go so far with this one anyway? It's not like you have this obligation to surprise me anyway."

"Yeah, I know." Haruto said stretching his arms and lying down at the foot of her bed. "I said that we should just keep it simple. I mean, just stay together or something. But then Nomura and Fukasaku kept on ranting at me. You've been spaced out lately, ever since I came back, they said."

"Ah! NO! That's not—"

"I should at least do something to fix things between us, if I ever made you mad or something. They told me _I_ needed to cheer you up. They told me that _I_ should put in effort this year_. Me_."

"Those girls…" Ibara muttered. "Sorry about that Haruto. I took my irritation out on you. Plus, you didn't have to put in this much effort. I hope you'll forgive them." She added as he stood up.

"Nope. I haven't given you a present after that one right? It was my first and last."

"You don't have to give me presents Haruto."

"But if I can see you smile, then I have to, right?" Ibara was stunned. He had never been this sweet, ever. Not that they should act sweet and all. But still. "Come here." He suddenly said, holding out his hand to her.

"Come where?"

"Somewhere." He said secretively, pulling on her hand, taking her up and out of the bed. He grabbed her jacket and coat as they got out and passed them over to her as he wore his. They ran out of the clinic, with Ibara noticing that the others had gone missing. As they ran through the snow, she couldn't help but feel like a child playing on a normal wintry day.

"Haruto, seriously, where are we going?" She said, stifling her giggle. Haruto stopped running and looked back to her. He walked closer to her, before removing a fallen snow flake on the tip of her nose, causing her to blink and blush.

"See? The surprise hasn't even begun, but just now, you were smiling beautifully, Naruse."

**-chapter end-**

**Yeah. It wasn't supposed to end here. Sorry bout that. And yes Haruto is very much OOC. But that's just how she likes him, when he's like..gooey and protective of Naruse, always wanting to make her smile. He really is like that. So I guess I managed to retain that part of him.**

**Well, next chapter will be the surprise and a blast form the past! Thanks for reading!**


	2. I can be sweet too

**Hey! It's been…what? About two weeks? Hmmm..major things that happened to me…we had our Christmas party, then we went to my dad's hometown, and then I realized that my hair had short parts that looked like bangs but weren't. I never knew that.**

**Well, again, if they're OOC sorry, though I'm glad that you don't think that Haruto is OOC. Yeah, he's really sweet when it comes to Ibara… haha…but I think I really made him OOC in this one. This chapter will have reference to the happenings in the real manga okay? Some of you might not have read the manga but what Haruto and Ibara really were friends when they were 5! My friend wouldn't believe me up until I showed her the manga.**

**Ha-ha! Enough of that! But before the story begins, please allow me to thank everyone who favored, followed, and reviewed!**

**Thanks for that guys! Well, here comes Chapter two!**

Chapter two: I CAN BE SWEET TOO

"Haruto, seriously, where are we going?" Ibara said, stifling her giggle. Haruto stopped running and looked back to her. He walked closer to her, before removing a fallen snow flake on the tip of her nose, causing her to blink and blush.

"See? The surprise hasn't even begun, but just now, you were smiling beautifully, Naruse."

Haruto said those words as a love-struck smile made its way to his face. Ibara was frozen in shock. He really was acting sweet! By why though? She kept quiet as her face turned red and she thought of a way to escape this predicament.

"Wha-wha-what are you saying eh Haruto?" she bluffed, pushing away his hand and turning away. "Y-you're being weird today!"

"I'm not weird Naruse. You're the one who's been avoiding me this entire time. " Haruto answered back, seemingly worried and hurt with her reaction. "Did I do something wrong?"

The innocence he used to speak those words didn't help her at all. In fact, her head got messed up even more.

"EH—UHHH—WELL….." She muttered uselessly. "AGH! Let's just get on with this! Where are you taking me anyway Haruto?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. That's right." He said looking at his watch. "Oh wow. It's already 5:00 pm. We should get going."

Without any form of warning, Haruto had once again taken her hand in his and began dragging her across the white wintry slopes of snow covered land. By normal circumstances, Ibara would not have minded the fact that she was joining hands with him, but for some reason, ever since he had returned from his supposed death, she had become restless around him.

'_I really don't get it…_' she thought as she stared at their intertwined hands. _'Even something as simple as eye contact makes me nervous, more so physical contact! Just what is wrong with me?'_

Well, it seems like people who are smart in matters of the mind really are dumb when it comes to matters of the heart.

* * *

'_He really is very weird…'_

"Watch your step, Naruse."

Haruto instructed as he reached out his hand to her, while Naruse just stared at him, blushing. They were about to go up a very steep and he had insisted on taking the lead. After a few seconds, Haruto had raised his brows and gave her a questioning look.

"Well?" He asked, reaching out his hand to her once more. Sighing in defeat, Ibara took his hands, her heart thumping faster upon contact, and allowed him to lead her up.

"Seriously," she said again, noticing how a cloud of vapor appeared every time she spoke. "Why are all of you going through so much trouble just for a surprise?"

"Not all of us. Kanon and Shion are probably just ruining everything." He answered exasperatedly as he maneuvered them from the trees that stood in their way. "Don't think too much about it Naruse. You might just hit your head on a tree and break it."

"Hey! That would never happen!"

"Your broke a pole in half. A pole made of solid steel. How much easier would it be for wood?" Haruto retorted, and she didn't have a comeback so she just kept quiet.

"You're being smart and sly as always, it's so unfair." She whispered, looking at the snow dejectedly.

"I'm not being sly. Anyway, we're almost there. Give me your other hand so I can pull you up."

Haruto offered, reaching out her hand to her. But this time, she refused. She didn't even bother to look at him. Ibara even had on that pouty face she has whenever she loses.

"Naruse, co—"

"No." She answered shortly, the agitation she felt from not being able to decipher what was going with her resurfacing. . "I refuse. You're probably just tricking me again. There's nothing there right? I'm gonna go back now." She said turning away and stomping her way downwards. _'Damn Haruto and his stupid games. He just loves to make fun of me doesn't he?"_

Apparently, that was her conclusion. Deep down inside of her, she believed that the reason she felt so agitated was because Haruto loved to play pranks on her and it just pisses her off whenever they work. She had never been so wrong in her entire life.

"Naruse wait! You have to watch your step!" Haruto called out, going after her at a steadier pace.

"Why? Did you place traps all over the place?" She shouted, not looking back at him. "Well sorry! But I'm not falling for it!"

"No you idiot! The snow here is still fresh, so if you stomp on it like that you'll f-!"

"IYAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Haruto's explanation was cut short when he heard her screams as she took a wrong step and slipped. With his wit and quick reflexes, Haruto hurriedly held onto a tree with his left arm as his right arm swooped Naruse from her waist, saving her from the fall.

"See?" Haruto asked with a smirk as he looked at Ibara's face, her eyes closed, probably bracing herself for the cold impact which would never come. Slowly, she peeled them open, only to dilate as she noticed how close their faces were. "I told you that you'd fall."

He added. They were sort of in an awkward position. His right arm was circled around her waist, with his hand resting on her right side, just above her ribcage. He held her close, too close. Their chests were in close contact, as she had her hands placed on his shoulders. They were seemingly positioned for a dance, and it felt nice, but it was too much for Naruse Ibara's sane mind.

"I…fell…snow…fell…down?...snow?"

She muttered incomprehensibly, making Haruto laugh. But even as the seconds dragged on, he still hadn't let go of her. Instead, their faces had grown closer to one another.

"Ha—ha—Haru..to?"

"I told you that you'd fall didn't I? You should really listen to me more." He said lifting her up bridal style. "Well, to make things easier for both of us, just let me carry you okay?"

"A-are you an idiot?!"

"Apparently," He said with a smirk as he walked up the slope. "Apparently, for you, I am one." He said, rendering Ibara speechless. Her face burned red as she kept quiet, silently wishing for this embarrassing moment to stop.

'_But then again…'_ she thought as her blush deepened. '_This…this isn't so bad, is it?' _she then looked up to him, noting down his physical features. Specifically how cool he was. His hair was gray, but it wasn't dull at all. It seemed to be blondish brownish in a way that confused her, despite knowing its real color. His eyes. His eyes that held so much mystery. So many secrets, that up until now, he had not shared with anyone but himself. And honestly? It pissed her off.

"Oh dammit." She muttered under her breath. Upon hearing her, Haruto looked at her with a questioning look.

"Hmm?"

"Ah! I…uh..ah…err….well…. IT'S NOTHING!" She shouted, finally deciding on the lamest answer in the history of stuttering idiots who try to deny something that they already know for a fact.

Wait, deny?

Was she truly denying something? Something which she knows true? If so, then what is this that she denies? Why would she deny the truth? Why is she denying it in the first place? And why is she rambling on about it in her mind when she knows that nothing would be answered?

"You do know that I don't believe you one bit right?" Haruto asked, snapping her from her thoughts as he stopped walking and just looked at her with a confused face.

"I…" Ibara tried to think of a proper answer. "I know."

"Can you still not tell me about it?" He said lowering her down on the ground. She flinched slightly, upon contact with the cold damp snow. Oddly enough, Ibara had felt a negative emotion when he put her down. Was it…disappointment perhaps? "Naruse.." He called out to her, noticing that she took too long to answer.

"Ah? I uhm..I'm sorry." She said turning away.

"Do you hate me?"

"WHAT?!" She said loudly, snapping her head to face him, taking a step forward to emphasize her shock. "N-no! of course not!" she added hastily. "I don't **hate you** Haruto! What on earth drove you to think that way?! How could I possibly **hate you**! I'd never **hate you**!"

"You know, just based on the number of times you said 'hate you', I'm starting to get even more worried. Seriously though, could you please tell me what I did wrong?"

"N-no! Seriously! It's nothing!" she said waving her hands in front of her. "Haruto…Haruto didn't do anything wrong. Quite the opposite actually." Ibara said lowly, turning her back and looking out to the view. Turns out, while she was lost in the princess/bridal carry, they did reach the top of the slope. She was now overlooking the setting sun in the abandoned capital. She had seen it so many times, but it had never looked this beautiful.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked, coming up to her and sitting down on the snow. She just stared at him mindlessly, before he reached over and pulled her down with him, catching her before she got hurt. "Well?" He asked again, but Ibara seemed mute. He set her down beside him, with a distance of less than 3 inches.

"A-ah…well….I don't really know how to say it…but you…you really haven't done anything wrong."

"If so, then why are you avoiding me?"

"Uhm…if I had to say….then…it's…because I…I feel… ashamed…" she said pulling up her knees to her chest, burying her face on top of them. "I feel ashamed to face you even now."

He had managed to keep quiet up until this point. Silently waiting for her explanation. He had wanted to smack her once in the head, for thinking such stupid thoughts, but he knew that it was something serious, and that he should be more considerate towards her.

"It's funny right?" she began. "Roughly three months ago, I've been bossing you around, telling you what to do and not to do. But then…right before the train that would pick us up at Mitaka Station arrived, I found myself staring at the rails, wondering when you'd come back. And you didn't."

"Naruse, that was—"

"I was at fault!" she shouted, cutting him off. "I was at fault too. No matter what you say, I know that I was the reason you died once. If I hadn't…if only I wasn't injured back then, you wouldn't have to go and help Gojiro-san and the others. I could've helped them myself. I could've stopped you from dying…"

"And what?" He suddenly said, snapping her out of her self-loathing moment.

"And…what?"

"So what?" He said again as he stretched his arms backward and leaned on them." If you had gone to help them instead of me, you would've died. Or if you're lucky, you could've been fatally injured, but at least you're not dead. I'd give one of my lives to protect your only one. You know that."

"But I don't want that Haruto!" she retorted, lifting her face and turning to him. "I don't want you—"

"Sigh, you're really annoying at times, you know?" He said leaning over to her and taking something out of her skirt pocket. Ibara's face exploded into a million shades of red.

"W-W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING HARUTO?!" She screamed, moving back from him while he just stared at her bewilderedly. "Y-Y-YOU!"

"What?" he asked innocently. "What did I do this time?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! YOU JUST PUT YOUR HAND IN MY SKIRT POCKET YOU IDIOT! HOW COULD YOU JU—"

"I only wanted to get this." He said calmly, opening his palm, revealing a small silver pocket watch. Ibara's eyes softened as she relaxed. She stared at the small thing before a smile made it to her face. "It's amazing that you managed to keep it one piece, even after thirteen years."

Ibara moved closer to him, sitting properly before reaching out to the pocket watch, holding it as it rested on Haruto's palm.

"Yeah." She said dreamily with a smile, unwillingly, Haruto stared at her, smiling as well. "Thirteen years…huh…"

* * *

"_Don't give up! I'll be protecting you! So keep on living, Naruse Ibara!"_

It had been months, ever since the 5-year old Kurosawa Haruto promised her this. Truth be told, she was albeit a little curious as to what he meant, but she never had the courage to ask him about it.

"Naruse?"

A familiar voice called out to her. She looked behind her and saw him, the only friend she had, jogging his way towards her. He stopped right in front of the bench that she sat on, right beside the tree that she fell down on, back when he said those words.

"Haru..to…" she mumbled lowly.

"Uh…yeah… what're you doing here? Aren't you cold, wearing just that?" he said. It was only then that she noticed it. It was winter. The month of December 2023 to be more precise. No wonder he was wearing that huge brown trench coat. Oh and look, he held another one in his arms. And here she was, wearing the same thin black over-sized long sleeved shirt/dress that she always wore.

"Winter."

"Yes. I know its winter Naruse. Don't you feel cold at all?" he asked. Ibara merely shook her head, meaning a no. Haruto sighed before airing out the white trench coat that he carried and placing it around her shoulders. "I know that we're Coppelions and all, but that doesn't mean we don't get sick. We're immune to radiation, not to cold."

"I'll be fine." She answered shortly again, not bothering to fix the coat around her thin frame. Haruto bent over and buttoned it himself, adjusting it every now and then.

"Yeah? Well, I don't care. You're wearing it and that's final. You—"

"Achoo!"

"You're such a bad liar Naruse." He said with a half mocking smile. Even with his good intentions, he at least deserved a good punch. "OW!"

* * *

"You're not very good at being nice, are you, Naruse?"

Haruto asked as he rubbed his arm which was sore from her earlier punch. They were currently situated on one of the tallest branches the old tree had, enjoying the view of the sunset and the falling snow. Watching as white and orange mixed with one another, forming a beautiful and majestic image of nature.

"You deserve it."

"Huh. At least you're talking to me now." He said as he shrugged his shoulders. "Anyway, do you know what today is?"

"Sunday."

He immediately frowned with her answer. Something about his face made her want to laugh but she managed to hide it under a meager smile.

"Sigh, today is December 24th. It' Christmas Eve, Naruse."

"Christmas Eve?" she absent mindedly repeated.

"I won't believe it if you told me that you don't know what Christmas or Christmas Eve are. It's basic human knowledge."

"But we're not human."

"…" Haruto was stunned; she said it with a cold expression before turning her gaze back to the view and zoning off. "Touché." He finally said, making her glance at him. "But actually, it doesn't really matter. We're dolls, I know. But that doesn't mean that we can't have a normal Christmas."

"We can never have a normal Christmas."

"Just watch me."

Haruto had suddenly jumped down from branch to branch. And it honestly irritated her that he was so much better at it than her. But she was glad he didn't fall like she did. It would be difficult to carry him all the way back. Haruto ran towards the field of snow, grabbing a handful of snow with his mitten covered hands and patted them to form big balls of snow. He did so repeatedly, placing them on top of each other, forming three layers, until he managed to create 5 snow men. By this point, Ibara had become intrigued by all of this and had decided to come down.

"Oh, you went down already?" he asked upon seeing her walk over to him. "You're gonna have to wait a while. Why don't you just sit on the bench, I'll just finish this."

"Let me help."

"Are you sure?" He asked, seemingly surprised by her.

"Yes." She didn't know why, but when she said those words, Haruto smiled at her, in a way that he had never done before. He then began instructing her on what to do. Basically, her job was to create tons of small snow balls and place them in a pyramidal form. When it seemed like she was done, she stood up and brushed off some of the snow that befell on her trench coat.

"Are you done now, Naruse?" Haruto asked, walking over to her. She merely nodded, as she watched him pick up a snow ball and walk about 10 meters away from the line of snow men.

"What are you—"

"Just watch." He said confidently before throwing the ball forcefully to one of the snow men, dislocating its head. Impressed by his marksmanship, Ibara applauded three claps. "See? That's how you play in a snowball fight."

"Snowball fight?"

"Yeah, you wanna try?" He said handing her one of the balls. She took it, glancing at the headless snow man and at the ball repeatedly.

"Uh, Naruse? You can throw it anytime." Haruto reminded, but she just kept on repeating her mantra. "Naru—"

A cold gust of wind blew past him. In the blink of an eye, the five snow men he had built were struck down. The three balls of snow that composed their bodies smothered utterly smashed on the ground. Fourteen balls were missing from the stack. There were also 14 body parts of snow men scattered.

"Uh, did you just—"

"They're dead."

"…Uh-huh…"

* * *

"Remind me to never again challenge you to a snowball fight." Haruto sighed as he lay down on the pile of snow. "You're one heck of a good player, Naruse."

Ibara merely stood her ground, watching him breathe and regain his breath as his hair, tousled, along with bits of snow, was carelessly scattered across the white lands.

"You have—"

"Snow all over me?" He asked, completing her sentence, and she nodded. "Well yeah, all thanks to you."

"It's not my fault I was better at it than you."

"Just you wait. When I grow a little older, I'll create something that will definitely beat you in a snowball fight. I can't wait to see your sorry face." He muttered with a hint of annoyance. "Hey! Maybe that'll be my Christmas present for you when the time comes!" He said sitting up, the bits of snow still not leaving his head. She kneeled in front of him and brushed them off, as Haruto stared at her.

"Christ..mas…present?" she asked, hoping to break his stare.

"Huh? Oh. Well, just as it says, it's a gift you give other people on Christmas. Didn't you know that?"

"I knew."

"Then why did you ask?" He asked exasperatedly. At times, she really didn't make any sense. Ibara shook her head once more before standing up and heading over to the old tree that stood tall above them. She heard the slushing sound of footsteps in the snow and a sudden warmth beside her. This could only mean one thing,

"Merry Christmas, Naruse."

Haruto said, holding out his palm to her. There was a silver chain hanging from it, so she had a few guesses on what it was. A few seconds pass and she still hasn't taken it from his hands. He grunted, before grabbing her hand and placing the said thing on her palm. It felt warm.

"I want you to keep it, okay?" he said, letting go of her hand, allowing the small silver thing to rest solely on her palms. Ibara peered through this and saw what he had given her. A small pocket watch, just a little smaller than her hand.

"What is this?" she asked, even though she knew the answer. She just wanted to hold a conversation with him.

"Huh? What are you saying? It's a pocket watch silly."

He said pressing down the button, popping it open. Ibara stared at it, as the second hand moved every second, as the minute hand moved every minute. It was just a simple pocket watch, but nonetheless, it felt…special.

"Time is really a precious thing huh?" He suddenly asked. "Once it slips away from you, you can never take it back. Once a second is gone, it's gone for good. We can't do anything about it."

"Why did you give this to me then?"

"As a reminder."

"Reminder?"

Ibara repeated. Haruto took a step closer to her before holding her hand which held the watch in both of his, smiling at her tenderly.

"Remember what I told you when you fell down this tree? I said to keep on living. I want you to keep on living every second of your life along the path you believe in. No matter what those scientists say; you are not a useless or malfunctional doll. You're Naruse Ibara. That's all you ever really need to remember okay? I'll be right beside you, even when I'm not there physically, I'm still with you. And I'll be protecting you."

"Your gestures…"

"Huh?"

"Your gestures…" Ibara repeated, looking down at her feet, whilst clutching onto the pocket watch and his hands. "…are sweet..."

"Sweet?" He asked bewilderedly. Even someone like him is pretty stupid sometimes. A shutter resounded in the area, but they both chose to play it off.

* * *

"I still can't believe that you were as good as you were in snowball fighting when you've never actually played it before." Haruto reminded, seemingly grumpy.

"Yeah? Well, I am. It's a natural born talent, thank you very much." She said proudly.

"Yeah, yeah, brag all you want. But hey," He called out to her, pressing the button on the pocket watch, popping it open. "You never _open_ed this…did you?"

"Ha? Of course I open it you idiot. If I hadn't, it would've been all rusty when you opened it just now, but it's not."

"That's not what I meant Naruse. You—" Haruto stopped for a second before face palming disappointedly. "So…you never really _open_ed it did you?"

"Open what?"

"Ugh… why am I even surprised? I should've known that you wouldn't be able to get it." He said holding the lid of the pocket watch and breaking it apart into two.

"AH! HEY!" Ibara shouted, grabbing the pocket watch from him. "Don't break it! You idiot!"

"I won't break it... I'm just gonna show you how to actually _open_ it." He said grabbing it from her hands and closing the two separate lids on the backside of the watch, so the face of the clock was now the lid itself. It made a small click sound and Haruto handed it over to her. "There. Now press the button again."

He demanded. Hesitantly, Ibara did press the button and it opened once more. This time, the face of the clock moved upward, and on its backside, beside the clock works, was a picture of both of them, standing under the tree as it snowed. They were facing one another, as Haruto hold Ibara's hands which held the pocket watch in return.

"Wait, when did you—"

"The shutter sound, remember?"

"Oh."

They both sat in silence, as Ibara stared at the picture, while Haruto stared at her staring at the picture. He didn't know why she was so quiet, but he never bothered to speak, until a droplet of her tear cascaded down her cheek.

"W-what the-! Hey wait! Why are you crying all of a sudden?" He asked worriedly as she rubbed her eyes.

"I…I wasn't." She said with a smile.

"But you just—"

"It was nothing Haruto. " She said looking back at the picture before holding it close to her heart. "Nothing."

"You can't honestly expect me to believe that right?"

"Well, it's not like you have another choice." She said sticking out her tongue to him in mockery before giggling. She placed the chain of the pocket watch around her neck before allowing the watch to dangle safely on her chest. "Thank you so much Haruto. Your gestures…they're very sweet."

"You know, you said that before but I didn't seem to get it back then."

"Then you're nothing but an idiot." She huffed.

"Whoever said that I don't get it now?"

"Hah? What're you-?!" and she was never really able to finish her sentence. For it was long lost in the kiss that he had given her. His hand went up to her head, caressing her hair, making her feel more relaxed as they kissed. But after what seemed like an eternity of seconds, he broke apart.

"Whoever said that I didn't understand it now?"

"B-b-b-but! S-since when?!" she stuttered with a red face while Haruto merely laughed it off.

"I figured it out the same night, when I was in my room. I wasn't sure whether I thought it right or not, so I decided to wait, until I had solid proof. Honestly? I thought I'd have to wait for an eternity. Good thing it only took me 13 years."

"You'd…wait for me? No wait, you _waited_ for _that_?!"

"Of course I did." He glanced over to her and gave her a knowing smirk, making her face even redder. "If I hadn't, I probably would've kissed you when we were 5. Imagine how that would've gone."

"Chaos. Complete and utter chaos." She answered. "But—HEY! THAT'S NOT THE POINT HERE!"

"And what is the point here exactly?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"YOU JUST! YOU—YOU JUST!"

"You know, there are a lot more words you can use in a sentence aside from you and just." He remarked, standing up and brushing off some snow from his pants. He looked at Ibara, who was now clutching her head, mumbling incomprehensible words that absolutely made no sense. _'I don't think that's a bad sign at all.'_ He thought. _'At least she's thinking about it.'_

"Ne, Naruse?" He called, lending his hand to her. "It's about time for your surprise."

"I think I've had too many surprises this evening already…" She said taking his hand and standing up. "First, Aoi gets kidnapped. Second, I broke a pole in half."

"That surprised you?"

"Shut up." She said, sending him a glare. "Third, you suddenly show up and tell me you were the reason behind everything. Fourth, I have a flashback of the past I barely even remember. Fifth, I learn that the pocket watch is some sort of locket. And then you…and then you…"

"And then I kissed you?" He asked, completing her sentence. Steam suddenly rose from her head, a sign that her brain was no longer able to function properly. "If you disliked it, then it's something we can forget about you—"

"I DIDN'T DISLIKE IT!" She suddenly shouted. Surprised by her own words, she put a hand over her mouth, which only made Haruto smile.

"Then we'll both treasure it. Because I sure as hell didn't dislike it, I'm just glad you feel the same way too."

His words made no attempt to appease her. Instead, it made her mind work too much, causing it to overheat again. Who knew this guy could be such a sadist? Noting down the fact that she was probably out of it, he tugged on her hand which he held, urging her to look over the edge with him.

"Merry Chris—"

"IBARA-SENPAI! KUROSAWA-SENPAI!" Aoi's voice shouted, completely ruining the mood. "HURRY UP AND COME DOWN FROM THERE?! WHAT'RE YOU WAITING FOR?!"

"W-was that…?"

"Unfortunately, yes. It was her. Ugh. And to think of all the times she could've interrupted, it just had—"

"OIII~! SENPAIIII~?! HURRY UP AND CO—"

"SHE GETS IT OKAY?!" Haruto shouted back, obviously pissed at her ability to ruin the moment. The younger girl shuddered in fear and zipped her mouth as the Ozu sisters laughed their butts off. "Sigh, really now…"

"It's alright Haruto." Ibara laughed, causing him to look at her. "I've had a lot of fun with you, but we should really spend some time with them."

"It doesn't matter really, because they'll face hell."

"What?"

"Your surprise." Haruto said pushing aside a shrub of leaves, revealing a stack of snowballs. "I told you that I wanted to recreate the whole Osaka setting right? Now, look down and tell me how many people you see."

Ibara did as he said and carefully stepped over the edge only to see Kanon, Shion, Aoi, Taeko and Mr. Wolf.

"Uh…two psychopaths, two of our juniors and a wolf?"

"With a total of?"

"Uh…four Coppelions and a wolf?" She asked, but Haruto only gave her a look that practically spelled out 'don't make this hard for both of us.' "Alright, a total of five."

"Good. How many snowmen did I build on that day and how many balls did you make?"

"Uh, if I remember correctly, five snowmen and…EH?!" She then hurried over to the stack of snow balls and began counting. "Fifteen snowballs."

"Correct. There was the one that I threw and the 14 that you used to massacre the poor snowmen. This is mostly an exact recreation of the Christmas we had thirteen years ago, Naruse. Back to the time when it all began." Ibara looked at him with an almost too happy smile. Too happy meaning she was almost brought to tears.

"Haruto…"

"Well, then?" He said picking up a snow ball and sending it right at Kanon's face, pissing her off. "Care to play a little snowball fight?"

"Let the massacre begin."

* * *

To make it less gruesome, here is a summary of what happened. Ibara had completely annihilated all five of them. Shion was practically cheating, because she was throwing huge snow covered **rocks**. But Ibara still beat her. Kanon was rendered useless, since snow is just another form of water. Taeko and Aoi were no match for her, and Mr. Wolf…poor Mr. wolf. As of now, all five of the fallen were sitting/lying down on the snowy battlefield, panting and catching their breaths. Except for Ibara, the winner, and Haruto, the observer.

"Mou!" Aoi whined. "It's so unfair! Senpai, you have 10x the athletic ability we have! You could've at least gone a little easier on us!"

"Hey now!" Ibara defended herself, throwing a snowball up and down like what Haruto did with his grenades. "It's not my fault that I'm pretty good at this! And to think this wasn't given in our curriculum! I could've totally aced this as a lesson!"

"Don't think it's over, Naruse." Haruto suddenly called out. "Do you remember what I said back then? When you defeated me in the fight we had?"

"Huh?" she asked herself. "Uh…something about…creating something…to defeat me?"

"Correct. I've waited so long for this day you know."

"E-EH?! So you actually did create something to defeat me in a snowball fight?!" she exclaimed, taking a few steps back from him.

"Hmmm…something like that I guess. No matter what you do, don't step on your right side okay?"

"Eh?" she asked confused, but Haruto smiled at her.

"It's for your own safety."

"Ah. Okay then." She said, side-stepping to her left. A small beeping sound was heard. She raised her foot and looked at what she had stepped on. A bomb. "Oh dammit."

* * *

"Hey, you okay there, Naruse?"

Haruto asked as he walked over to pile of snow, from wherein Ibara had emerged, looking like a snowman. She tried shaking off the snow, but she accidentally tripped, sending her face-first to the snow-covered ground. Haruto didn't help her at all.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" she asked, her voice muffled by the snow. She didn't even bother to stand up first.

"A little bit, yes." He said squatting down in front of her, just in time to see her raise her face and glare at him. "Okay, that was an understatement. I am obviously enjoying this."

"You can be such a jerk you know."

"Yeah, I know." He said forming a snow ball and throwing it at her face. "Merry Christmas, Naruse."

Ibara spat out the snow in her mouth, grumbling out words that he couldn't comprehend but nonetheless made Haruto laugh. Aoi and the others slowly gathered around them, only to laugh at their class representative's pathetic state.

"Kurosawa-senpai…" Aoi said in between her laughs to Taeko. "He's not really the sweet type now is he?"

"Well…I guess." Taeko answered wiping off the tears of laughter in her eyes. "But as long as he makes Ibara-senpai happy, then that's all that matters."

Overhearing their conversation, Haruto looked over to them, causing the two girls to stiffen. An idea formed in his head. He smiled at them before reaching out to grab Ibara from the snow.

"Actually girls," He said pulling her up."I beg to differ. Just ask her yourself." When she was finally unburied from the snow, he twirled her around, letting his hand rest on her waist as he brought her closer to him, his face at a dangerously close proximity to hers.

"I can be sweet too, right_**, Ibara**_?"

He asked in a honeyed voice as he uttered her first name which he rarely speaks, one that made Ibara blush and annoyed at the same time. He had on his trademark smirk, which at this moment, was the main annoyance factor. But to say that she hated it would be a lie.

"Shut up." She muttered with puckered lips, glancing away from him. "Haruto you idiot."

"I just knew you'd say that."

==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-END-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-===-===-===-=-==-

**Okay, so yeah. That's it! To clarify a few points here. I wanna make them 12 so I can make it the twelve days of Christmas! It's ironic because I'm posting this on January 1.**

**First, they were really friends when they were five. Ibara fell down a tree and was gravely injured, so Haruto to the rescue!**

**Second, December 24, 2023 is a Sunday. I checked it. **

**Third, they really met in 2023. They were born 2 years after the incident with the meltdown. That happened in 2016, so if you add 2, it'll be 2018, plus they were 5 so, 2023! I know you guys know how to add, I'm just bored right now.**

**Fourth, I don't know what to call Ibara. Class rep, class pres or what?! **

**Fifth, if you've read the manga, there were some instances wherein Haruto spoke Ibara instead of Naruse. I don't know if that was just a translation mistake or whatever, but I'll stick by it since I can barely read Kanji characters. **

**Sixth, the whole pendant thing, I had one of it when I was younger but I think I lost it. I've been searching for it when I thought about this story. Please pray that I find it.**

**Seventh, Haruto is sort of the kind of bishounen that says and does perverted stuff but it doesn't seem lewd at all. Remember the "I examined your whole body thoroughly" gag? I made it into the "So I put my hand inside your pocket without your permission, what's so wrong about that?" gag.**

**Eight, just so you know, there are a total of 6946 words here in this chapter.**

**Ninth, the part where they kissed wasn't supposed to be. The fangirl in me couldn't resist at all.**

**Tenth, just pm me of you have any more questions or requests or whatever.**

**Eleventh, here comes a serious one. If you may have noticed, after Haruto kissed her, Ibara seemingly went back to normal. I really think that's what would happen if they actually kiss in the manga. She's the kind of girl who doesn't care about that stuff, as long as she cares for a person, she'll continue to act like she's always done. **

**Twelfth, I LOVE COPPELION! ESPECIALLY IBARAXHARUTO! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!**

**Oh, some minor notes. So, even if you check my other story (its just one story divided into parts) of TAMNI (its mostly TAKNR), you'll know that I never proof read any of my writings. I'm also not a native speaker, I'm Filipino. My language is the exact opposite of English, so please forgive me for any grammatical mistakes.**

**BTW, I was just wondering if you guys like this one? The story I mean? **

**Thank you once again to everyone who reviewed/favored (there is no such words as favorite, I just realized that because it is what I used to write before)/followed this! I might post a few more omake's about this, but meh..I'm not really sure. Till next time!**

**Oh wait, I forgot to wrap this up.**

==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-END-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-

Fukasaku Aoi and Nomura Taeko stared wide-eyed at the display their seniors, Kurosawa Haruto and Naruse Ibara, had to show. They had seemingly forgotten that they were in an open space where everyone could see them. Hadn't it bothered them that there they were acting all lovey-dovey in front of everyone?! They look like they were kissing for god's sake! WAIT! MAYBE THEY ARE!

"U-uh…T-taeko…just what on earth is happening here?"

Aoi asked but she didn't receive a reply. She turned her head and saw the dark shade beneath her glasses as her mouth was agape. Her hands were trembling visibly.

"N-ne…Ozu Sisters?" She said turning towards the twins, in desperation for someone to talk to. The two sisters were just snickering as they watched the two.

"Why are you even asking that?" Kanon asked. "Isn't it obvious? For all we know, they could've done _sooo much_ when we weren't around."

"L-like…what?" Aoi asked as her voice trembled.

"Oh?" Kanon said, placing a hand in front of her mouth as she talked. "Are you sure you want to know? Don't you think you're too…young to know?"

"TOO YOUNG?!" Taeko and Aoi shouted/asked.

"Ah, Aneki?" Shion asked tilting her head."Are you saying that the class rep and Haruto already had s—"

"DON'T SAY IT OUT LOUD!" The two juniors shouted again. They turned their attention back to the two love birds and saw how Ibara lightly punched Haruto's arm as she laughed and blushed. In turn, Haruto took a strand of her hair and began twirling it around his finger as he whispered something to her, which was inaudible to them. Whatever it was, Ibara turned bright red

"NOOOO!"Aoi shouted as Taeko passed out. "IBARA-SENPAI! You're an angel! A pure white angel! What'll happen to your reputation?!" she then screamed random stuff as Kanon and Shion laughed at their misery.

"Huh? What happened to those two?" Ibara asked as she and Haruto walked up to the Ozu Sisters.

"Oh nothing class rep~" Kanon cooed."I just told them a little lie."

"Hah? Lie?" Ibara asked confusedly.

"-OOO!" Aoi continued to scream causing all of them to look at her. "WHAT'LL I DO IF IBARA-SENPAI GETS PREGNANT?!"

"I DON'T WANT TO DELIVER ANOTHER BABY IN THE MIDDLE OF A BATTLE!" Taeko shouted, momentarily regaining consciousness.

"Pregnant? Baby? Just what the hell are they talking about Kanon?" Haruto asked innocently. Kanon turned to face him, but abruptly stopped when she felt the numbing feeling from the aura that Ibara gave off. It was worse than her electricity.

"You'd better run for your lives."

"Oh dammit! Run Shion run!"

"EH?! WHY ME TOO?! THAT WAS ALL YOU ANEKI!"

"WHY YOU LITTLE-!"

"ORYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"What the hell?" Haruto asked as he stared at the trace of dust left behind by Kanon, Shion and Ibara. He then looked at Aoi who was screaming and Taeko who was passed out. "Sigh, maybe being in a ghost town for too long affects your brain. They're insane."

Meanwhile, Vice Principal Mishima and Lieutenant Ibuse were quietly having their coffee.

"Neither Naruse nor Kurosawa has reported back to me yet." Mishima kyoto-sensei said.

"Maybe they're just having fun over there. Relax VP."

"I guess."

And so they drank their coffee. A few seconds of uncomfortable silence blew past them, before the VP spoke once more.

"They forgot about us."

"We'll never forgive them."

"Agreed."

==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==- THIS IS REALLY THE END-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-===-

**MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!**

**HAPPY NEW YEAR TOO!**


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